Samsung sets sights on internet of things with business buy-out

An outlay of $200million (£116million) is believed to have secured electronics giant Samsung one of the leading players in the burgeoning smart home market.

After reports last month the Korean conglomerate had made an offer for fledgling American company SmartThings, Samsung has now confirmed the deal, but declined to disclose the actual price paid.

The Washington DC-based business sells smart home kits, based around a house’s wi-fi hub, through which a range of appliances and heating and lighting systems can be controlled.

SmartThings co-founder and CEO Alex Hawkinson told Forbes on the announcement of the deal: “This will help us reach a massive scale. We saw an opportunity to bring SmartThings’ vision to hundreds of millions of customers."

The firm’s staff will move from their Washington DC base to Samsung’s Open Innovation Centre in Palo Alto, California.

The move will enable Samsung to step up competition with Google and Apple, which have both signalled their intention to focus heavily on the home automation business.